Dispenser for products contained in collapsible tubes



June 17, 1969 3,450,309

DISPENSER FOR PRODUCTS CONTAINED IN COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Filed Feb. 21, 1968 INVENTOR. Luigi D4 fhLLo United States Patent 3,450,309 DISPENSER FOR PRODUCTS CONTAINED IN COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Luigi Di Millo, 14 Hammond St., Portland, Maine 04101 Filed Feb. 21, 1968, Ser. No. 707,135

Int. Cl. B65d 35/28 U.S. CI. 222103 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Dispenser for products contained in collapsible tubes, the dispenser having a holder supporting a tube, a tubepressing member pivotally connected to the holder for movement into and out of a tube-crushing position, and a rack and pinion connection between the holder and the tube pressing member.

The present invention relates to dispensers for toothpaste and other products sold in collapsible tubes.

While collapsible tubes are well adapted for use in dispensing many products, the use of toothpaste tubes is illustrative of the problems which they present and with which the invention is concerned. It is commonly observed that users do not always use a toothpaste tube to best advantage either because a user may squeeze the middle portion of the tube or fail to fold the closed end as the contents are dispensed.

Such factors as these and a desire to have toothpaste tubes conveniently available have lead to many proposals for dispensers that would hold a toothpaste tube and provide means for applying collapsing pressure thereto in a manner combining efiiciency and convenience in dispensing its contents.

Such dispensers have not been widely accepted and the reason appears to be that the means for expressing the tube contents do not combine sufficient mechanical advantage with pressure release when the desired amount of paste has been dispensed.

The particular objective of the invention is to provide such means, an objective that is attained by providing a dispenser that includes a holder for supporting the tube, a tube-pressing member that is pivotally connected to the holder for movement into and out of a tube-crushing position, and a rack and pinion connection between the holder and the tube pressing member.

With this construction, the user may easily turn the pinion to apply paste expressing pressure on the tube along its length to ensure its use without waste. When the member by which the pinion is turned is released, however, the pressure on the tube is relieved since the rack is now free to turn the pinion. In addition, the rack and pinion connection is easily disengaged simply by swinging the pressing member outwardly to a sufficient extent thus enabling the used tube to be easily removed and replaced.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown an illustrative embodiment of the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages will be readily apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the dispenser with a tube in place,

FIGURE 2 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 3 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 33 of FIGURE 2.

The dispenser illustrated by the drawings includes a box-like holder generally indicated at 5 having a flat bottom 6 constituting a support for a generally indicated toothpaste tube 7. The end wall 8 has a central, vertical slot 9 through which the nozzle 10 protrudes. The slot 9, on the inner surface of the wall 8, is marginally recessed as at 11 to accommodate the nozzle supporting end of the tube 7 and the bottom 6 is recessed as at v12 to accommodate the nozzle end of the tube 7 as the tube is collapsed.

A tube-pressing member 13 is connected at one end to the side walls 14 of the holder 5 as by pivots 15 entrant of transversely aligned vertical channels 16 located in the side walls 14 beyond the closed end of the tube 7, the pivotal connections being sufficiently close to the holder bottom 6 so that the flat undersurface 17 of the member 13 may be pressed downwardly to collapse the tube 7 against the bottom 6. The length of the member 13 is such that its free end is close to the end wall 8 and is shown as overhanging the recess 12.

A bracket 18 on the end Wall 8 supports a transverse shaft 19 rotated as by the key 20 and provided with a pinion 21 meshing with a rack 22 extending vertically of and anchored in the free end of the member 13. The rack 22 extends above the upper surface of the member 13 so that its length is adequate to provide sufficient movement of the member 13 to completely collapse a tube 7 when the key 20 is turned to the appropriate extent. At the same time, the exposed end of the rack 22 enables it to be used to lift the member 13 to disengage the rack from the pinion 21 when it is desired to remove and replace the tube 7.

In use, the holder 5 is usually mounted in a vertical position and after a tube 7 has been positioned therein the member 13 is released to permit the remeshing of the rack and pinion. When it is desired to use some of the tube contents, the cap 23 is removed and with the brush, indicated at 2 4, under the nozzle 10, the key 20 is turned to express a desired amount of paste. When the key 20 is released, the pressure on the tube is immediately relieved thus preventing excessive paste discharge.

1 claim:

1. A dispenser for toothpaste and like products contained in collapsible tubes, said dispenser comprising a holder including a portion providing a lengthwise support for a tube and stop means engageable by the nozzle end of a thus supported tube with the nozzle exposed outside the dispenser, a tube-pressing member, means pivotally attaching said pressing member to said holder adjacent the rear end of said support, said member being of sufiicient length to extend substantially to said stop means, the pivot means being so located that said pressing member may be swung bet-ween a raised position in which the dispenser is open to enable a tube to be positioned against said support and a closed position in which the tube is crushed flat against said support, and means to swing said pressing member to express the tube contents, said expressing means including a pinion rotatably supported by the holder adjacent said stop means with the pinion axis transversely of the support and a rack on the face end of the pressing member disposed in the direction the pressing member swings, the pinion being in mesh with said rack.

2. The dispenser of claim 1 in which there is a recess in the support for the shoulder at the nozzle end of the tube.

3. The dispenser of claim 1 in which the stop means is a wall having a vertical slot and a recess marginally of the slot on the inner face of the wall to accommodate the closed end of the tube.

4. The dispenser of claim 1 in which the rack extends above the pressing member.

5. The dispenser of claim 1 and a bracket attached to 3 4 the holder, a shaft rotatably supported by the bracket, and 1,693,261 11/ 1928 Sweetland. a key on the end of the shaft, the pinion being fast on 2,674,392 4/1954 Kunz 222-103 X the shaft.

References Cited ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 NORMAN L. STACK, JR., Assistant Examiner.

1,320,275 10/1919 Roach 222-103 

